Gardens & Grounds at The Ryebeck

Gardening for wildlife is very much the theme in The Ryebeck garden. This interesting garden originally set out in Edwardian times stretches over some 5 acres…

To the front there are formal lawned areas flanked by specimen shrubs, flower beds and a delightful rockery garden brim full of sedum, saxifrage and campanula, as well as an array of ornamental planting.

Our head gardener Kevin Line a keen member of Cumbria Wildlife Trust and an active member of the Hardy Plant society… you might say his passions influence the gardens he looks after…

At Ryebeck he has set about creating a range of interesting habitats in different areas of the garden, many of which form natural havens for wildlife.

The rear of the property is a natural amphitheatre facing south west, looking out towards Windermere and the Coniston fells beyond, an area bathed in sunshine on warm summers’ day.

Here you will find carefully mown paths allowing guests to wander at leisure through the sizeable grass meadows, where bees busily going about their pollination work on Knapweed (Centaurea nigra). This native wild flower provides good quality nectar, and attracts butterflies and beetles. Seed heads too are a vital source of food for the birds. Amongst the huge array of specimen grasses you will also find red clover, red campion, ladies bedstraw, field scabies, yarrow and campanula.

Our recently established a wild flower meadow includes; plants like tick seed, Californian poppy, cornflower and field poppies. More formally planted flower beds include; Kaffir lilies, Lucifer flower, dahlias and roses.

There is a newly created bog garden ulitlising the natural runoff from occasional streams, which appear during heavy rainfall, here there are specimen ferns on the fringes, irises, astilbe, flag irises, foxgloves, mosses and grasses all designed to attract wild inhabitants.

Shrubs are dotted about throughout the gardens and include; smoke bush, viburnum, camellia, magnolia, laurel, rhododendron, azaleas, cotoneaster, hydrangeas, acers, enkianthus and the beautiful Chilean lantern tree.

Trees also feature in this garden as you might expect there are some interesting specimens including; the wedding cake tree, the Japanese snowberry tree, Douglas fir, and more common-a-garden specimens such as oak and beech.

You will also find a haven of tranquillity in the form of our Lake View Terrace created specifically for taking in the mountain views to the rear of The Ryebeck, looking west towards Windermere, Claife and the distant Coniston Fells, the perfect spot for taking in our dramatic sunsets with a sundowner…

If you fancy being a little more active in the garden you can always stroll along the specially created meadow paths or perhaps even indulge in a little sporting endeavour… by making use of games lawn, the perfect place for a genteel game of croquet on a summer’s afternoon…

Our garden certainly doesn’t stop still, Kevin has some interesting projects lined up for the coming months, including the creation of a wild rose garden…

More importantly ongoing planting and caring for the areas in the Ryebeck garden ensures that we preserve the balance of wildlife and hopefully provide a haven for a variety of insects such as butterflies and bees, a whole host of bird life, including our resident pheasant, who chef hasn’t managed to get his hands on (nor will he…), and even red deer, who can often be seen wandering through the gardens first thing in the morning…